Japan - the Kingdom of X - X JAPAN (eng) - General information - Toshi

Toshi was born on October 18th, 1965 in very usual Japanese family, in seaside city Tateyama, Chiba prefecture. Toshi's mother was a piano teacher, father - usual office worker. His childhood was not full of any shocking events or tragical facts, so Toshi was the usual child: exemplary and obedient son, did his best at school studying, was a great fan of baseball, was a member of school volleyball team and also sang in school choir. His only special feature of that time was that he was forth child in the family. And that he was lucky (or not) to make up friends with Hayashi Yoshiki at the age of four.
That was what began everything, that friendship changed the life of Toshimitsu Deyama in future, giving it as impossible direction as noone including Toshi and his parents could imagine.

In 1977 Toshi couldn't refuse the friend's request and began to play guitar in cover-band Dynamite formed by Yoshiki. By 1980 the band with lots of line-up and performing style changing, changed the name from Dynamite to Noise. The band reached solid success, but because of upcoming school finishing almost all members left the band, and Toshi after previous singer's leaving, took his place. That happened spontaneously. At usual arrangement meeting Yoshiki asked all rest members to sing something, and in the end it seemed that Toshimitsu's voice was the most relevant to band's style, strong and high enough.

But line-up changings influenced on Toshi's life, after three years his interest grew in something more than just hobby. The band started to occupy rather more time than it should have done according to Toshi's parents' opinion. They considered that their son spent time on needless small things that interrupted his serious preparation in medical university. In front of Deyama difficult problem stood up: to follow parents' decision and to go and study for a doctor or to disobey and stay in the band, together with Yoshiki. Toshi chose the second: in 1982 he almost escaped from home and together with Yoshiki went to Tokyo to sing further. Yoshiki's confidence and financial support of his mother was enough to promote the band called X at that time.

Later, in one of the interviews, Toshi would say that by means of that he wanted to overcome his inferiority complex, and to prove to parents and, first of all, himself that he was able to do that. Stage image he performed in contributed in it much. Toshi's visual style of early X reminded punk-rock and included huge iroquois of light long hair, leathered cloths with lots of different chains and metal adornments. It was ended with crazy make-up with the base of traditional make-up of samurais used by theatre No's actors.
It's worth saying that Toshi's stage image and style of behaving was created by Yoshiki and hide (lead-guitarist of the band). In interview they not once said that in sense Toshi wasn't a rocker and that he was the very usual man. Toshi himself and rest members liked that little lack of correspondence, that contributed in the band something exotic and extraordinary. hide liked to say : "Our vocalist is the very usual guy". But Toshi's voice made his owner absolutely unique on the stage and made the fans cry while the band's performing.

On August 25, 1992 X changed its name to X JAPAN, that was announced at press-conference in New York. But that altering in main band didn't change Toshi's plans. In 1992, while continuing work in X JAPAN, Toshi, the first of band members, began solo career. On October 21st he released a single Made in Heaven, and then, on November 21st, the album with the same name.

Solo work of Deyama differs rapidly from style of X JAPAN. It is more still, full of lyrical, romantic notes and remind classical ballad style. Some Toshi's fans were quite disappointed with such a sharp differences and called Toshi's solo works middling and usual. But that is not so. Beside this, it helped Toshi to reveal other creative sides, that couldn't be realized while he was bound by Yoshiki's band. In the end, despite of all that, Toshi was getting fans of his solo works released with high regularity to fan's joy (see more in Discography).

Beside discs with audio tracks Toshi released several video films and photobooks. On November 10th, 1993 the photobook Beyond the Moment and the film Ariola Meeting was out and it included three songs.
On April 21th, 1994 Toshi released video Solomotions, and on June 21th, 1995 video Grace Live, shot in Urawa Cultural Citizens Centre and in Budokan. On November 25th the photobook Serinasu wa dedicated to video release was out.
On September 11th, 1996 there was release of the book Bokura ga atta 7 hiai with auothorship of Toshi and Ruuhira Kawada.

It's needed to say that at that time Toshi became an active member and sponsor of association of struggle against AIDS. To take part in that work Toshi was encouraged with story of his 19-years old fan, the victim of that illness. Toshi dedicate the song Passion of Love to him.
Beside that Toshi had worked on the radio long time, where he hosted his own programme Good Voice.

It's worth saying that in 1995 Toshi as Yoshiki and hide changed his stage image second time. At first time it was altered in 1993 and included only haircut - the iroquois was disappeared and replaced by light hair falling down on shoulders. At second time color of hair became black, and it was tidy short haircut and more moderate, even conservative, cloth style. That image, with minor changing, became his special feature right up to disbanding.

On February 17th, 1997 Toshi suddenly got married with actress and singer Morisumi Kaori, whom he had met with several years before. They played together in rock-performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Toshi sang Hamlet's part, Kaori - Ophelia's. Later, in one of the interviews, Toshi got confused telling about that scene experience.

In April 1997 Toshi decided to leave the band X JAPAN with reasons still unclear and how it was announced later he was going to devote to solo career. By all members' consent it was decided not to announce officially about disbanding to avoid possible problems with record labels and panic among the fans.
That event was accompanied by serious quarrel between Yoshiki and Toshi, the result was that they stopped communicating personally but only through the managers and offices staff.

On September 22d, 1997 on the official press-conference was announced about suspending the activity of X JAPAN till 2000 because of vocalist leaving. Toshi was absent there, then, he made a written statement that he hadn't been informed about place and time of press-conference. And after that he didn't speak in public refusing to comment that fact. The words said by Toshi and his behavior quarreled him with Yoshiki completely. Hayashi in his turn said that Deyama's office was informed properly about upcoming event, but officially he didn't refute Toshi's statement.
The reasons of such conduct of band's leader and ex-vocalist still remain unclear.

According to one, quite widespread version, it's considered that reason for Toshi's leaving was sect with radical religious base called Lemuria. Toshi got in that sect through his wife Kaori who had been it's constant member for several years before marriage. Another person played important role in that event was, as considered, leader of Lemuria - Masaya.<br>
It's difficult to say was it that way or not. One facts said that Toshi met Masaya after he announced about his wish to leave X JAPAN, so leader of Lemuria could not influence on Toshi and his decision. Other facts said that Toshi, under influence of Kaori, had got interested in sect's activity long time before and also for a long time he had practiced spread by Lemuria psychological training based on music therapy and as if helping to people to overcome their inferiority complex, so the personal meeting with Masaya only assured Toshi that his decision was right.

After a while in Toshi's family a great scandal occurred. Deyama's elder brother who managed his financial affairs announced that Toshi got brain-wash and he refused to give all Toshi's wealth to Lemuria's fund of help as Toshi ordered. Toshi refuted all those statements and said that he was ruled by his own will and his leaving the band wasn't connected with Lemuria's work and it was because of personal reasons.
After some time Toshi tore all his connections with family and friends, and dived into sect's work. He went around Japan and performed free in hospitals, refuges and nursing homes, often using the acoustic guitar or piano. According to unproved information Toshi gave all his wealth to fund what became a mean of promoting and spreading "music therapy of Lemuria"

In 2000 a criminal case against Lemuria and Masaya appeared in court. After action was published numerous official statement of sect's administration said that Toshi and his wife had born no relation to occurred law breakings and that they hadn't known anything about them. All those events affected Toshi's reputation negatively.

After a while still he began to appear on different holiday events, and in 2001 he performed in international music festival in Korea. During several years he held concerts in China regularly, and also he began to appear in TV programmes, released several albums.

Unexpectedly in February 2007 it became known that Yoshiki and Toshi finally made up after long-termed quarrel. Toshi visited Yoshiki in Los Angeles, where they met for the first time during these 10 years. They began to work on joint project, the song in hide's memory. And on revival of X JAPAN. On October 22d, 2007 on the roof of Odaiba Aqua City PV on new X JAPAN song - I.V. was shot. In interview afterwards Yoshiki announced about X JAPAN concert planned to be held in spring 2008. Singles of new songs and PV didn't release officially, but one thing can be said right - Toshi's voice sounds greater than ever.

To be continued...